The Legend of Zelda: The Roots of Destiny
by Raikou
Summary: Before Gannondorf, before Link and Zelda,before the Sacred Realm was sealed away there lived a man. His name would scarcely be remembered yet his actions would give birth to legend. Original characters, Link's father and mother.
1. Prologue

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If you didn't read the Synopsis then this story occurs thousands of years before Ocarina of Time and centers around Link's father Lynder and his mother Achlys. How can Link's father and mother be born thousands of years before the events of Ocarina of Time, you ask? A very good question sir or madam, read on to find out.

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Author's Notes: Lynder is a name I chose right away for Link's father, I hope it clicks as much for you as it did for me, If your wondering (you probably aren't if you haven't played Phantom Hourglass) the "Kobu" Kingdom is actually the ruined "Cobble" civilization from Phantom Hourglass. Cobble sounded rediculous for an ancient civilization and cobble would be written as Koburu in japanese so that's where that name came from also all the words you hear in Kobu are ancient Egyptian.

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The Legend of Zelda: _T__he Roots of Destiny_

Prologue:

Lynder is a young man growing up in the Land of Hyrule, which continues in its golden age of prosperity, the power and affluence that flows out of the Golden Land has made life in Hyrule safe and comfortable. But a darkness grows in the lands to the west, the first threat that has faced the kingdom in recorded history. It creeps, unperceived through the shadows and it lusts after the power the icon of the land, the sacred Triforce, has to offer. Lynder dreams of a darkness, the likes of which has never been seen in Hyrule and a door that he has feared since childhood. It is a door through time, the door to the Golden Land.

It is far away and long ago before Lynder was born, the ancient kingdom of Kobu gleams in the hot sun of the desert beyond the seas. The azure ribbon of the Eshru gleams like molten gold. Great pyramids point to the blazing orb above in homage to their gods. Lynder sees it all in his minds eye, he soars past temples and obelisks, a vast labyrinth cities of bright limestone and pale orange sandstone the monumental obsidian pyramids at the compass points of the island and the even larger golden one at the center. A sorcerer stands alone in a room with polished obsidian walls, hieroglyphs told tales he had never heard and couldn't read yet felt strangely a part of. The man spoke in a deep distant voice and walked a circle around the room leaving a trail of salt behind him. The faceless warlock returned to his ancient spellbook, his circle complete and began the second invocation inscribing a smaller circle inside the first. He completed it and began to draw lines crossing and intersecting the center of the circles the chanting reaching a fever pitch he ended with a shouted word that echoed to the invisible heights of the room, "_SEDJET_!!" The lines of salt become evil green and black flame the floor within the second circle crumbled away as a great shadowy darkness clawed its way into their world.

Four knights sense the disturbance and look to a dark storm cloud that gathers at the edges of their land. It gathers around the golden pyramid slowly casting their land in shadow.

The Dark God lunges at the sorcerer but cannot break the bonds of the circles. It roars and shakes slabs from the distant ceiling the sorcerer smirks but notices too late that one of the fallen slabs of obsidian has swept away a part of the circle, the evil spirit lunges again and the barrier shatters. The darkness looms over the cowering sorcerer its great maw dripping with spittle that sizzles on the slick black floor. "Ianew." The man whimpers and the demon descends upon him.

Lynder wakes in a cold sweat, the black fiend still fresh in his mind. It is the day before the Day of Ascension and he was thousands of miles and several centuries away from the ancient ruined Kobu kingdom.


	2. The Day of Ascension

**Hey, I'm getting pretty good at languages, the short conversation with the foreign man is an adaptation of Latin. I don't know why I thought I had to clear this up, maybe because latin doesn't seem very exotic. For the purpose of the story and any of my other stories for that matter all Hylian characters speak japanese because Hylian in the games is just a modified alphabet for writing japanese so, for them Latin is a pretty foreign language. If you want to know what they're saying ask a Latin teacher I'm not here to teach a class. Oh, another thing I gave Lynder's name an origin, one of my friends thought it needed one and if you're not a botanist then the reference is basswood in the tidbit about his forging techniques, Basswood in America is known as Lime or Linden in most of Europe and oddly enough the Tilia genus's flowers do secrete an aromatic oil used in perfumes, I didn't really know this before I started researching it for the story it was just sort of a coincidence.**

Chapter One: The Day of Ascension

It is the day before the Day of Ascension when the door in front of the temple would be opened, those hoping to be chosen to enter the Golden Land would spend the day in meditation to spiritually cleanse themselves. Since he did not hope to be chose he would heat the furnace just like every other day and see if anyone else who had sense in their head needed anything from the town blacksmith.

As it turned out people _did _need the blacksmith on this day, guards needed patches in their armor for the jousting that would be held in celebration after the chosen had entered the Golden Land, a man needed a belt buckle to replace one that had broke and another man needed him mend a stewpot. His friend Achlys turned up to bring him a pitcher of ale and a boiled potato. She and her mother and father that ran the tavern in Hyrule Town had always looked out for his well being ever since his parents had been chosen four years ago and disappeared beyond the golden arch.

"Lynder!" she had to shout to be heard over the roaring furnace and the ringing hammer blows. Lynder hurriedly doused the flames and quenched the cherry red steel cuirass he'd been hammering.

"How is it you always interrupt me when I'm doing something important." He frowned grumpily.

"Lynder I have known you for as long as I can remember and you've never done anything important." She retorted.

"Maybe if you didn't interrupt me…"

"Do you want this or not?" she offered the plate of food and drink and he accepted it.

"Thanks." He said after downing the ale and munching half the potato.

"So do you want to go into town with me or do have something else _important_ to do?"

He sighed and scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, "I suppose Delphias' armor can wait, it's not like this isn't the hundredth time he's asked me to mend it. Why do you need to go into town?"

"The farmers are bringing their surplus in to market today, my father made a deal with one of the growers but we have to get there before someone makes him a better offer." Lynder sighed and untied the leather apron from around his waist and a couple of moments later was being dragged through the cramped streets of the market. They passed vendors loudly proclaiming their wares and some discrediting their opponents; stalls of produce, textiles livestock and jewelry lined the typically broad streets and the smell of roasting meats and spices from the common to the wildly exotic hung heavy and greasy in the air.

"Where's this guy your supposed to buy from?" He asked, thinking it doubtful they were just going to happen on him by chance in all the commotion.

Achlys chewed her lower lip apprehensively, "I'll find him, why don't you go buy a proper lunch, I know that potato wasn't much." He was about to protest but he was still hungry and so he headed off into the labyrinth of stalls. As densely packed as it was today in the coming weeks even more would arrive from all corners of the known world and probably some from lands that weren't on any map. Lynder liked the market, as a blacksmith he didn't get the chance to travel to distant lands but with the market packed out like this once a year one scarcely needed to step outside one's door for cuisine and artifacts and people from the farthest reaches of the globe.

He went to the stall with the strangest smell coming out of it, "What is it?" he pointed to the sizzling meat on a bronze plate.

"Agninus…" the man replied shortly. He held up his finger signifying that he wanted one. "Un agninus…" he yelled back into the kitchen.

"Agninus cum panisne est?" came the reply.

He turned back to Lynder, "Quod panis?" he asked as though to clarify. Lynder nodded having no idea what he was agreeing to. "Duodevegenti…" when Lynder didn't respond he held out his hand and repeated more insistently. He hadn't foreseen this little wrinkle the man was asking him to pay and he had no idea what the price was.

"Umm, here." He put fifty rupees down.

The man returned thirty-two. "Gratis." He turned back to the kitchen. "Agninus et panis, et factus rapidus est."

"Tu meus moleste sunt." The cook barked back but in a few minutes he brought back the steaming meat wrapped in a piece of flatbread.

The meat was spicy delicious and Lynder happily devoured it while making his way through the stalls. He observed a dark skinned blacksmith beating a copper coin into a rose petal, which he attached to a nearly finished rose on the anvil. Lynder watched this man for a while and though he secretly thought that he was a superior smith he would've liked to talk to the man and share trade secrets like how his father quenched his steel in water suffused with the oil of basswood to give it an unmatched polish. In fact, it was from this secret that Lynder had received his name. He wandered around the market for a while stopping when he took an interest in something he had just finished his meal of _agninus_ when a deranged looking man came up to him brushing against his shoulder as so many people did in the cramped market but as soon as he made contact Lynder's field of vision was filled with the terrible face of the great dark god from his dreams. He looked back at the man but he was gone, vanished into the crowd. He shook the image from his mind and went back to examining the stalls.

He arrived home well past midnight and reluctantly forced himself to beat the final touches onto Delphias' armor and set it on a wooden dummy for the soldier to pick up in the morning. He crawled gratefully into his bed before snuffing out the lantern and drifting off to sleep.

Lynder dreamed of darkness, of great pyramids falling into oblivion and four men wandering across a wasteland that used to be their home towards an uncertain future and an unknown savior.

"Lynder!"

Lynder stirred moody even before he was fully awake, "What?"

Achlys pecked on the window, "Lynder, the Way is opening…"

Lynder rubbed sleep out of his eyes, the Way, the door to the Golden land opened only once a year to welcome a select few into its paradise. Lynder's parents had been chosen a few years ago but he'd been left behind. He hadn't once lamented remaining, he was in love with _this_ world, its subtle imperfections, its austerity; he had no interest in the glorified retirement of the Golden Land, he preferred life, neither easy nor glamorous but more…_ real._ "I don't give a damn about that place." He said, honestly enough but a little harsher than he'd meant to be with Achlys.

"As you say." She sniffed haughtily and joined the throng headed towards the temple.

Achlys was hardheaded at the best of times and absolutely obstinate at others. They had been friends for as long as he could remember and he didn't like displeasing her, she had enough fire in her thin, bony little body to singe a Goron and he had no interest in being on the receiving end of one of her rants. He rose and pulled on a pair of cotton trousers, a tunic and a leather vest, his hair stuck out awkwardly on one side where he'd slept and instead of fixing it he messed it equally on the other side and stepped outside where he was swept up in a tide of people all thronging to the temple.

He forced his way to Achlys' side just as the King was finishing the invocation. "How magnanimous of you to grace us with your presence."

"Hello, Achlys." He replied despondently.

"…and welcome into your glorious bosom, your humble sons and daughters to partake in your wonder and radiance for all of eternity and to be released from all unknowns. In the coming year we ask only that you continue to contribute to our kingdom's prosperity and good fortune…"

A man in the center of the crowd twitched nervously, so close, how long had it been since Kobu fell; a century? Five? Ten? He did not know, he moved his essence from body to body for aeons it seemed, but now he was so close. The power that would sustain him for eternity was inches from his grasp.

"…and now it comes to that most sacred hour, let the portal once again be opened and those chosen three join the ranks of our anscestors." A crack of light appeared in the great golden arch behind him. A sharp intake of breath sounded as a glimpse of verdant fields stained gold by a perpetual aureate brilliance that came not from any sun but from the golden Triforce spilling its power out over the land.

"Let's get closer." Achlys whispered, her eyes shining with wonder.

Lynder shuffled his feet uncomfortably, he wasn't comfortable going nearer to the door; he had a sudden, primal and irrational fear that it would pull him in against his will that he would fall into the door like the world had been turned on its end. "I'll stay here, thanks." He mumbled.

"Come _ON_!" she insisted tugging his arm nearly out of socket and dragging him up to the very from row.

Lynder froze, cold sweat prickled his skin and he gripped his friends arm tightly, "Don't let go." He whispered hoarsely.

"What's with you?" she asked incredulously.

The man at the center of the crowd now made his way violently towards the front the king was finishing his speech but an incessant ringing in his ears had drowned out the words. He shoved a guard onto the tile and clambered up to the portal. The guards were encircling him, were leveling spears, no this wasn't right if this body died he would be forced back into the abyss. That couldn't happen not now that he was so close. A woman and a man near the front, the woman looked weak, frail. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her close, in between himself and the guards.

The wild man elbowed past them and clambered onto the platform. The guards leveled spears at him and shouted orders to stand down. Lynder began to edge away from the scene when a rough jerk on his arm told him Achlys had been separated from his grasp. With horror he turned around just in time to see the man pull her onto the dais. "Lynder!" she screamed, the man leapt backwards and they were gone.

Lynder stood frozen staring at the spot where his friend had been only moments earlier, moments that seemed like an eternity. No, she couldn't be gone forever, "ACHLYS!!" he leapt up onto the stage and ran towards the shining portal where his friend had been moments earlier, forgetting that he hated the door, forgetting that he never wished to set foot in the Golden Land. A light consumed him and he too vanished off the face of Hyrule.

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	3. Into the Golden Land

Lynder was surrounded by light and fear gnawed at his insides, not only because he hated the door he had just come through, which was bad enough. Something an old school magister had said about there being things in the Golden Land that prevented those who were not chosen from entering. Would he and Achlys and the madman be trapped forever in this searing light? He could not imagine a worse fate.

Just as he thought he might go mad himself the light subsided and he lay in the soft grass with the golden light of the Triforce kissing his cheek softly. He raised his head out of the grass expecting to see the man and Achlys but they were not there, nor was any sign that they had ever been there. Lynder rose and looked around there was the portal which was now just an arch that stood in the middle of a great field and in the distance, barely visible beyond the golden brilliance of the sacred relic a vast palace of white alabaster stone. The City of the Ancients, time stopped in the Golden Land and so the first Hylian civilization was as new today as the day the final stone was laid. The Triforce that radiated light across the entire land was kept in the highest tower; he started toward it running through the field.

_The man was not chosen, not marked by the light of the gods. He did not belong here and so he must die. The Ancient Guardian had no memory and so it did not remember the woman and the man veiled in shadow that had bested him. It only knew what was right before it and what was right before it was an intruder._

Lynder felt the ground tremble beneath him and barely missed being crushed by the giant sword. An enormous statue of gold and alabaster had made a sizeable crater where he had stood a moment before. The statue's head turned to face him its amber eyes burning with an unnatural fire, it straightened itself and raised its gigantic blade once more. Lynder dove out of the way of the second strike and the ground heaved with the impact knocking the wind out of him and leaving him stunned. The blade came down again and Lynder had no time to dodge he threw up his hands in a feeble attempt to ward off the blow; the blade stopped suddenly, cracking the stone with the force of its momentum and the fire in the statues eyes dimmed and died. Lynder rolled out from under the blade and got shakily to his feet.

"That was close." The voice came from a man in red robes with snow-white hair. He had a smooth face but his eyes were ancient.

"D-did you do that?" He looked at the giant statue, it was nearly a hundred meters tall but it had seemed larger when it had been right on top of him.

"Oh, him…yes. He was created to keep people who aren't supposed to be here out."

"So why didn't you let him crush me?" the man had saved his life but that didn't mean he shouldn't be suspicious of him.

"I find myself in need of an outsider's help."

"Well I'm just looking for my friend and the lunatic who dragged her in here." He explained; he eyed the statue a new and horrible thought suddenly occurring to him.

"They weren't killed." The man said answering the question before he asked it. "That's why I need you… to destroy the darkness you brought with you into this land."

"Look, I'm sorry, I just came here for my friend, that's it."

"Master Wanderer, some people have destiny thrust upon them and some must search for it and yet others make their own…I wonder which kind of man you are." The man turned away from him, "I am Rauru and I can help you return to your world."

It took a moment for Lynder to comprehend what the man had said, "Wait." He called after him running to catch up. "Did you say you could return me to Hyrule?"

"I suppose I did." The man said not looking at him but continuing to stare straight ahead.

"Well, can you?"

"I thought you were going to save your friend."

Lynder thought about Achlys, the prisoner of a madman, "Yes, but after that, you can return us home?"

"That would not be outside the realm of possibility," the man said dismissively, "Provided that you assist me in the destruction of the evil that has invaded our land here."

"How would I do that?"

"I need a sword repaired."

"A sword?"

"You are a blacksmith, are you not?"

"I suppose. So if I fix your sword you can kill whatever that evil thing is and then we can get Achlys and you'll return us to Hyrule?"

"You didn't let me finish, this isn't just some ordinary sword, it is the sword of Lord Eru, god of all gods, who created the universe out of nothingness."

"Eru's sword? How do you expect me to fix a god's sword?"

"You must find the Tree of Light in the Lambent Moor. It is a long journey, an arduous journey and it begins here." Lynder looked away from the man and was faced with a monolithic door carved out of pure gold and adorned with carvings of ancient battles that the gods fought at the dawn of time. It was the door to the City of the Ancients, Lynder turned again to Rauru but the man was gone, In his place was a large owl flying away slowly. To his surprise the owl wheeled around and spoke with the man's voice. "Come to the temple, I will wait for you there." Lynder watched the owl fly away for a minute until a deep grinding sound heralded the painfully slow opening of the door. Lynder slipped through as soon as the gap was big enough and was faced with a city of brilliant alabaster stone.

The radiance of the city was very near to blinding, the polished alabaster making the burning light of the triforce all-present. He wondered how his ascended ancestors tolerated it. A thought suddenly dawned on him, _his ascended ancestors…_ his parents would be among the vast crowds. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't want to see them; maybe if he had been chosen like they had, if he'd been here to stay, to be happily and permanently reunited. But his business in Hyrule still felt unfinished. He wanted to have many long years to spend in lands where night still fell where people needed to farm the land or hunt for game to survive. He wanted to marry a handsome and hardworking woman and have children who would grow up to be strong hardworking men and women. He wasn't ready to be here and as soon as he had Achlys back he would leave.

The man…owl…whatever he was hadn't told him where to go but he felt almost certain that he should head for the palace. That would be the most likely place to find the weapon of a god. He asked one of the townsfolk how to get to the palace to which they only laughed and told him to "follow the wide roads." At first he didn't understand, all the roads seemed to be a bit different but after walking a bit he came to what he first mistook to be a courtyard. Indeed the road was wide enough to easily fit the Hyrule Market and long enough to stretch from the north to south gates of Hyrule. And at its end was the enormous palace it's highest tower blotted out by the radiance of the triforce. As he made his way up the road he couldn't help but notice the odd behavior of some of the townsfolk. It seemed as though roughly half of the population had been hit rather hard over the head with something heavy. Their eyes were glazed and they shambled around not seeming to want to go anywhere.

"They're new." He looked around to see a boy much younger than himself standing by his side.

"What do you mean, new?" he asked.

"You're new too, I can tell. But not new like them."

"What's wrong with them?" he asked truly concerned, now as one of the entranced people nearly turned over a cart full of strange looking fruit.

The boy only laughed, "Nothing's wrong with them. They're happy; most people when they first come through are like that. I was here when the city was first frozen we thought it was going to stay like that forever but we eventually got bored of it and started farming and building again, even though we don't _really_ need to eat or anything."

Lynder considered this for a moment, "So they'll get better?"

"Yeah, I guess, if you want to put it that way; though it's more like they'll just get bored. Why, do you know one of them? They'll recognize you even if they're not very interesting to talk to."

"No," Lynder said, "I don't know them."

"Oh, well are you trying to get to the palace then?"

"Yes, I need to meet someone there."

"Well the only people there are the Sages and they won't let you in anyway." He looked slyly up at Lynder, "But _I_ know how to get in."

The small boy took him around to the back of a large building and lifted a golden grate from the street. After casting a furtive glance around to ensure no one was looking he jumped through. After waiting a few moments Lynder followed, landing in a tunnel full of clear water up to his knees.

"What is this place?" Lyder asked.

"It's a sewer, what does it look like?" the boy replied cheekily.

"I didn't think you guy's needed a sewer."

"Don't forget, this used to be a real city."

Lynder followed his young companion through the twisting labyrinth and endless passages of the disused sewer system. Even though they were totally cut off from the outside world it still wasn't entirely dark in the tunnels, it wasn't as bright as the city above but there was a soft glow that seemed to come from everywhere and it gave everything an odd two-dimensional look. It was awhile before they came to a ladder leading up to the surface.

"This is it." The boy said matter-of-factly, "This ladder leads to the palace grounds. It's well guarded but not by the sort of guards you'd expect."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Stay on your toes?"

"Aren't you coming?"

"I've been once and it almost cost me my head, I'm not going back up." He ran off down the tunnel, "Good luck to you, sir." He echoed from around the corner.

Lynder was a bit shaken by the boy's words, but then he was only a boy perhaps he had just been caught sneaking a peak at the princess while she bathed. Come to think of it, did the Golden Land even _have _a royal family? Regardless, that man Rauru had seemed important or at least powerful, if he wanted him to come here it must be safe.

There was a side door where he had come out but he didn't see any guards of any sort. He was surprised to find the door unlocked and he slipped inside. The Palace of Light's vaulted ceilings held no echo of voices and its spacious chambers accommodated little more than light. He found his way to a winding staircase he was sure led to the Argent Tower. The staircase seemed to go on forever the light growing more glaring with each step until he reached a room near the top. The light here was so bright it seemed to literally drip off the walls, running down the windowpanes like a mercurial rainstorm.

_Why are you here, oustsider?_

The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, and it licked up the walls like tongues of fire, it was angry. Lynder looked around the room preparing himself for anything. "Who's there?"

_We are the spirits of this palace, who guard the sacred relic._

This voice was different, deep and earthy, almost forlorn.

_We protect the Triforce from those who do not deserve its power._

Another new voice like a mighty rushing wind, "WHO ARE YOU?" Lynder shouted, truly afraid now. Could these be the guards the boy spoke of?

_I am Lanayru, a Spirit of Light created by the gods to guard their knowledge._ The light from one of the four windows condensed sharply into a vaguely human semi-translucent figure. This one's voice was cold as the surface of a frozen pond in the dead of winter.

_I am Ordon, a Spirit of Light created by the gods to protect their people. _The voice of wind became a similar figure, appearing in the light of the second window.

_I am Faron, a Spirit of Light created by the gods to defend their honor. _Announced the earthy voice as it too materialized. Lynder looked to the last window anticipating the appearance of the remaining spirit; he was not disappointed

_I am Eldin, a Spirit of Light created by the gods to preserve their power. _

The four spirits converged menacingly upon him and Lynder cowered unable to do anything. "Back away from him you witless spirits."

_This is no concern of yours, Sage._ Eldin warned ominously.

"Of course it is you useless things, _I _brought him here. He is to repair the Sword."

_This man can re-forge Lord Eru's blade?_

"Fate has brought him to us for this purpose." The luminous beings parted to reveal the man in bright red robes from earlier. "My apologies, friend. These spirits tend to take their duties too seriously." The beings in question had already vanished without a word.

"Yeah I noticed." He sighed allowing Rauru to help him to his feet. "So, when do I get a look at this sword?"

"Right, we're wasting valuable time it won't be long before that man finds his way here and then we will all be doomed." he said with an odd air of carelessness. He tapped his staff on the tiled floor causing a dais to rise up out of the stone. It bore the statue of a magnificent robed figure with great arching wings with each feather cut so thin into the stone it was a miracle it didn't crumble from the weight of their gaze. The hooded figure had no face but it held its hands out, palms skyward, as if placating, and in its hands it held the shards of a broken blade suspended in the air by some wild magic.

The metal wasn't like any steel he had ever seen, it's luster was that of silver and it's edge was razor sharp. The hilt had broken away long ago but the fastenings looked sturdy.

"So how do you expect me to carry it around?" Lynder asked. Rauru produced a leather tube-like canister, like the kind cartographers used to carry their documents around, and placed the shards gently inside. He proffered it to Lynder, who took it reverently. He felt it was somehow sacrilegious to receive the blade of a god without some sort of ceremony. He strapped it to his back gingerly, "Won't I be needing supplies?" He asked.

"Hmm," Rauru pondered, momentarily stymied, "There is little need for trailblazing in the golden land . . . I believe we can scrounge together enough food and water for a journey to the Lambent Moor. And you will need a sword for your own, just in case."

"Is the Golden Land really that dangerous?" Lynder asked.

"It is little different from your own world when things go awry." Rauru stated flatly. "Here, take this, for starters." He pulled a decorative sword from the wall and tossed it too him. It was well balanced and sharp and Lynder slid it into his belt next to his hammer.

He looked up to see the man claiming a sword for his own, "Are you coming too?"

"Certainly, the fate of all existence is at stake. Surely you didn't think I'd gamble with our destiny so lightly? I will guide you across the Sacred Realm till we reach the Tree of Light or our deaths.


End file.
